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The Carpet Museum (Halı Müzesi) in Istanbul, Turkey, contains some of the finest carpets ever to grace the mosques of Anatolia. It’s temporarily closed and is going through a transitional period.

 

Future of the Carpet Museum

The Carpet Museum was located within the Hagia Sophia complex from 2013 to 2020. The entrance was at the northeast corner of Hagia Sophia at Soğukçeşme Street through a beautiful Baroque gate. Apparently the museum will reopen again in the Imperial Pavilion of the Blue Mosque (as of December 2023). I’ll update this post when I can verify the information.

All of the following photos and information about the museum are from my visit in November 2018 when it was located at Hagia Sophia, which was converted from a museum to a mosque in July 2020.


 

First Gallery

The first gallery displays the rarest and oldest Ottoman carpets in the collection. They date to the 14th and 15th centuries, with the most well-known being from Uşak. Many are heavily damaged but still quite impressive.

First gallery at the Carpet Museum
First gallery
Carpet in the first gallery
Carpet in the first gallery
Carpets in the first gallery at the Carpet Museum in Istanbul, Turkey
Carpets in the first gallery

 

Second Gallery

The second gallery displays carpets from Central and Eastern Anatolia from the 15th through 19th centuries. Many of the carpets in this gallery were used in the Divriği Great Mosque.

Central and Eastern Anatolian carpets in the second gallery at the Carpet Museum in Istanbul, Turkey
Central and Eastern Anatolian carpets
Second gallery
Second gallery
Carpet in the second gallery
Carpet

 

Third Gallery

The third gallery displays the largest and most stunning Uşak carpets. Many are floor to ceiling length, and some come from the Süleymaniye Mosque and Blue Mosque.

Third gallery at the Carpet Museum in Istanbul, Turkey
Third gallery
Third gallery
Third gallery

 

Fourth Gallery

Finally, the much smaller fourth gallery contains a few smaller carpets and kilims from throughout Anatolia.

Small fourth gallery
Small fourth gallery
Small fourth gallery at the Carpet Museum in Istanbul, Turkey
Small fourth gallery


 

My Thoughts on the Carpet Museum

All in all, I enjoyed my visit to the Carpet Museum. I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was. The carpets are labeled clearly with the location and approximate year they were produced as well as the mosque they once adorned. I look forward to its reopening and will definitely visit again to see the changes.

Author

Owner of Paisadventure. World traveler. Chicago sports lover. Living in Colombia.

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